By CLAIRE SAVAGE, Related Press
A Virginia transportation safety officer is accusing the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety of intercourse discrimination over a coverage that bars transgender officers from performing safety screening pat-downs, in line with a federal lawsuit.
The Transportation Safety Administration, which operates below DHS, enacted the coverage in February to adjust to President Donald Trump’s govt order declaring two unchangeable sexes: female and male.
In keeping with inside paperwork explaining the coverage change that The Related Press obtained from 4 unbiased sources, together with one present and two former TSA staff, “transgender officers will no longer engage in pat-down duties, which are conducted based on both the traveler’s and officer’s biological sex. In addition, transgender officers will no longer serve as a TSA-required witness when a traveler elects to have a pat-down conducted in a private screening area.”
Till February, TSA assigned work in keeping with officers’ gender identification below a 2021 administration directive. The company informed the AP it rescinded that directive to adjust to Trump’s Jan. 20 govt order.
Though transgender officers “shall continue to be eligible to perform all other security screening functions consistent with their certifications,” and should attend all required coaching, they won’t be allowed to exhibit how one can conduct pat-downs as a part of their coaching or whereas coaching others, in line with the inner paperwork.
A transgender officer at Dulles Worldwide Airport, Danielle Mittereder, alleges in her lawsuit filed Friday that the brand new coverage — which additionally bars her from utilizing TSA facility restrooms that align together with her gender identification — violates civil rights legislation.
“Solely because she is transgender, TSA now prohibits Plaintiff from conducting core functions of her job, impedes her advancement to higher-level positions and specialized certifications, excludes her from TSA-controlled facilities, and subjects her identity to unwanted and undue scrutiny each workday,” the grievance says.
Mittereder declined to talk with the AP however her lawyer, Jonathan Puth, referred to as TSA’s coverage “terribly demeaning and 100% illegal.”
TSA spokesperson Russell Learn declined to remark, citing pending litigation. However he mentioned the brand new coverage directs that “Male Transportation Security Officers will conduct pat-down procedures on male passengers and female Transportation Security Officers will conduct pat-down procedures on female passengers, based on operational needs.”
The authorized battle comes amid mounting experiences of office discrimination towards transgender federal workers throughout Trump’s second administration. It’s also taking place at a time when TSA’s ranks are already stretched skinny because of the ongoing authorities shutdown that has left 1000’s of brokers working with out pay.
Different transgender officers describe related challenges to Mittereder.
Kai Regan labored for six years at Harry Reid Worldwide Airport in Las Vegas, however retired in July largely due to the brand new coverage. Regan, who isn’t concerned within the Virginia case, transitioned from feminine to male in 2021 and mentioned he had carried out pat-downs on males with out concern till the coverage change.
“It made me feel inadequate at my job, not because I can’t physically do it but because they put that on me,” mentioned the 61-year-old, who anxious that he would quickly be fired for his gender identification, so he retired sooner than deliberate moderately than “waiting for the bomb to drop.”
Kai Regan, a former Transportation Safety Administration agent, shows his retired TSA badge on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photograph/David Becker)
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Ahead — a authorized group that has repeatedly challenged the second Trump administration in court docket — referred to as TSA’s coverage “arbitrary and discriminatory,” including: “There’s no evidence or data we’re aware of to suggest that a person can’t perform their duties satisfactorily as a TSA agent based on their gender identity.”
DHS pushed again on assertions by some authorized consultants that its coverage is discriminatory.
“Does the AP want female travelers to be subjected to pat-downs by male TSA officers?” Homeland Safety spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin requested in a written response to questions by the AP. “What a useless and fundamentally dangerous idea, to prioritize mental delusion over the comfort and safety of American travelers.”
Airport safety knowledgeable and College of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor Sheldon H. Jacobson, whose analysis contributed to the design of TSA PreCheck, mentioned that the apply of matching the officer’s intercourse to the passenger’s is aimed toward minimizing passenger discomfort throughout screening. Vacationers can typically request one other officer if they like, he added.
Deciding the place transgender officers match into this apply “creates a little bit of uncertainty,” Jacobson mentioned. However as a result of transgender officers probably make up a small % of TSA’s workforce, he mentioned the brand new coverage is unlikely to trigger main delays.
“It could be a bit of an inconvenience, but it would not inhibit the operation of the airport security checkpoint,” Jacobson mentioned.
TSA’s coverage for passengers is that they be screened based mostly on bodily look as judged by an officer, in line with inside paperwork. If a passenger corrects an officer’s assumption, “the traveler should be patted down based on his/her declared sex.” For passengers who inform an officer “that they are neither a male nor female,” the coverage says officers should advise “that pat-down screening must be conducted by an officer of the same sex,” and to contact a supervisor if issues persist.
The paperwork additionally say that transgender officers “will not be adversely affected” in pay, promotions or awards, and that TSA “is committed to providing a work environment free from unlawful discrimination and retaliation.”
However the lawsuit argues in any other case, saying the coverage impedes Mittereder’s profession prospects as a result of “all paths toward advancement require that she be able to perform pat-downs and train others to do so,” Puth mentioned.
In keeping with the lawsuit, Mittereder began in her function in June 2024 and by no means acquired complaints associated to her job efficiency, together with pat-down duties. Supervisors awarded her the highest-available efficiency score and “have praised her professionalism, skills, knowledge, and rapport with fellow officers and the public,” the lawsuit mentioned.
“This is somebody who is really dedicated to her job and wants to make a career at TSA,” Puth mentioned. “And while her gender identity was never an issue for her in the past, all of a sudden it’s something that has to be confronted every single day.”
Being unable to carry out her full job duties has brought about Mittereder to endure worry, nervousness and melancholy, in addition to embarrassment and humiliation by forcing her to reveal her gender identification to co-workers, the grievance says. It provides that the ban locations extra burden on already-outnumbered feminine officers who’ve to choose up Mittereder’s pat-down duties.
American Federation of Authorities Staff Nationwide President Everett Kelley urged TSA management to rethink the coverage “for the good of its workforce and the flying public.”
“This policy does nothing to improve airport security,” Kelley mentioned, “and in fact could lead to delays in the screening of airline passengers since it means there will be fewer officers available to perform pat-down searches.”
Related Press Workers Author Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
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